WASHINGTON – March 21, 2018 – BSA | The Software Alliance praises the inclusion of the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act in the omnibus spending bill released today. Our current outdated laws create uncertainty regarding law enforcement access to data. The CLOUD Act would modernize those laws, enabling law enforcement to gather evidence abroad for the purposes of investigating serious crimes while still protecting individual privacy rights. The bill includes strong privacy protections around access to data, contains clear human rights protections, and maintains a robust role for Congress and the judicial system in overseeing agreements to obtain data.

We commend Congressional leaders for addressing concerns regarding Congress’s ability to review international agreements negotiated pursuant to the CLOUD Act, and for including additional measures to protect the privacy and rights of Internet users around the world. In addition, we are pleased that the revisions include a strong statement about the importance of preventing governments from using this process to mandate US companies create backdoors around encryption. 

Clarifying when law enforcement can access digital evidence overseas is important to the software industry – software contributes more than $1 trillion to the US economy and supports more than 10 US million jobs. This issue also affects all industries that rely on global cloud-based services. In February, industry leaders, including BSA, sent a multi-association letter to members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committee voicing their support for the bill and urging Congress to pass it.

Thank you to congressional leaders for recognizing the importance of this issue, including the bill’s sponsors: Sens. Orrin Hatch, Chris Coons, Lindsey Graham, and Sheldon Whitehouse and Reps. Doug Collins, Hakeem Jeffries, Darrell Issa, Suzan DelBene, Tom Marino, John Rutherford, and Val Demings. We look forward to seeing the CLOUD Act signed into law.

Click here to learn more about the CLOUD Act.